Is your calendar crammed with unproductive meetings and nonprofitable projects? We’ve officially dubbed 2023 “the year of saying NO” for two important reasons: productivity and profit.
In this article, we share the different ways we’ve been saying NO that have brought us more peace and profit this last year — and even more to come in 2023.
How the Pandemic Changed the Way We Worked
The pandemic showed us how powerful and resilient we are as a nation. Entire industries shifted from working in an office to working from home. The flexibility and opportunities that technology provides have also created challenges, though.
We added more and more Zoom calls and projects to our plate because we could meet with more people, collaborate more, and get more done.
When we realized that we could get more done and be in front of more people, we just kept adding and adding to the calendar. Fortunately, some of that brought new and continued business. But it also brought an increasing amount of unproductive and nonprofitable things.
Our Story of Saying No Last Year
Podcast appearances shot to the front of many people’s priority lists. It gave us coaches and experts more time to work on our podcast and book more guests, which led to more exposure and business.
But there were some pitfalls as well. We’ve been doing podcasts for four years now. At first, we didn’t make money from our podcast because we were still learning the platform.
And when the pandemic hit, we started getting on more podcast appearances. And after that, the invitations kept coming.
And we didn’t want to say no.
That was becoming a problem because we didn’t have the time and energy to do all of them.
After much consideration, we started a brand new strategy of saying no to the ones that didn’t fit. And that forced us to focus even more and only accept guests or appearances who are perfect for our mission.
Below, we share the three main no’s we’re focusing on this year.
No #1: The Programs You Offer
The programs you decide to offer are the most important. You may have a million ideas you want to share, but you must be realistic about your time and energy.
Make sure to focus your program or offer on one thing. For BrandFace, all we do is build profitable personal brands. We only help people create personal brands and become more profitable.
Think hard about the one thing you want to focus your business on. And make sure your offers are aligned with what you do.
No #2: Focus Only On Partners You Align With
We consider several things when we consider collaborating with someone:
- Do they help the same people we’re helping?
- Do they offer something our clients need after we’ve built a brand for them?
- Are they knowledgeable and experienced, and can they deliver on that?
- Are they the easy to work with?
Then…we say no to everything else. We can’t be everywhere, and neither can you.
No #3: The Appearances You Accept
We have a solid guest profile that we stick to every day. If a podcast guest doesn’t fit that profile, we kindly and gently let them know.
Practice saying no when it comes to the places where you appear on another podcast. Not all podcasts and their audiences will resonate with your business. That’s where having a strong personal brand from the get-go is so crucial.
If a podcaster sees your message and brand, they’ll immediately know whether you can deliver what their audience wants and needs. All you have to do is ensure your branding is clear.
The Takeaway
This year, stop wearing yourself thin and start saying no to what doesn’t align with your business goals. And guess what? A well-defined brand can help you focus your time and energy on what matters most. Your brand dictates everything you do in business. It tells you who you align with, what you do, where you spend your time, and most importantly, what you charge for your time. That’s what makes a personal brand profitable.
Are you a Coach, Consultant, or other Expert with a life-changing message to share? Join us inside our free Facebook Group to learn how to position & present yourself and your offers differently in order to maximize your time and dramatically increase profits.
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BrandFace LLC is a personal branding company for coaches, consultants and other experts who want to STAND OUT from their competition and attract their ideal customers so they can become recognized and sought after authorities in their industry. Tonya Eberhart & Michael Carr are international bestselling authors and the partners behind BrandFace. Their mantra is, “People don’t do business with a logo. They do business with a person.”